The inner sleeve is actually the cylinder wall with piston travelling inside as normal, the outer sleeve slides over the inner, both sleeves slide up and down, timed to provide opening and closing of intake and exhaust ports as required. The sleeves are activated by a "camshaft" with connecting rods, talk about reciprocating mass!
Interestingly, it seems that there are two entirely different and unrelated Knights involved with sleeve valves. Charles Knight appears to have invented the thing, and put it into practice, but an earlier Margaret Knight also came up with the idea of sleeve valves but, lacking automotive experience and connections, never made an engine. In the little research I've done, there seems to be no connection between the two, and no hanky panky of invention stealing. Just a coincidence of names, unless I've missed something.
ReplyDeleteBut Margaret is a pretty interesting character in her own right. Known mostly for inventing a machine to make flat bottomed paper bags, she also had a patent for a sleeve valve engine among other things (you can find it in her Wikipedia article).
At some point long ago I thought I saw the Knight engine attributed to Margaret, but this is very unlikely because Margaret's patent appears to be dated after Charles's invention was already being made. They seem to have grown up in different regions, with different influences but both were pretty smart folks, to be sure.
thank you! I hadn't heard of any of that! paper bags... imagine figuring that out, and everyone stealing your idea, and yet, you patented the dang thing
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